Today, rising NYC alt-star aldrch shares his new track, ‘tongues,’ with artist-producer wunderkind Curtis Waters. The collaboration follows the announcement of his debut album, industry standard, out September 22 via Epitaph Records.
‘tongues’ sees aldrch and Waters hang up their characteristic contemporary beats in favor of a deep dive into indie rock, cleanly blending influences dosed with 2010s nostalgia. The single comes to life as vibrant synths dance atop catchy drums, texturized with wistful lo-fi vocals — a song to get deeply lost to. “I wrote the song in sort of a low point in my life,” explains aldrch, “as a way to air out my toils with love. I didn’t write any of the lyrics down, just made the instrumental and started singing. ‘tongues’ is about giving up control, and letting life happen around you.”
On collaborating with Waters, aldrch reminisces, “I met Curtis years ago in a TikTok comment section, so long ago he had a buzz cut… When he first came to New York is when we really became friends, at a time when we were both coming into our own with our projects.” Though despite their familiarity, the single was a long time in the making. “We would always talk about getting something in together, but nothing came of the stuff we worked on back then.”
“I originally had an open for Curtis on a slutty club song inspired by his song ‘HIMBO,’” he tells. “I had just finished the rough cut of [industry standard], and he wanted to listen front to back before getting into anything specifically. The second he heard ‘tongues’ I saw him light up; we knew that that was the one.”
While perfecting the track, Waters adds, “I spent like 4 hours running around my house trying to record the song from different distances to get a big sound.” The time taken shows in the song’s multilayered production, the perfect tune to showcase the artists’ creative ranges and dedication to chasing the intoxicating feeling that it accomplishes.
Originally hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, aldrch (real name Sam Richman) moved to Manhattan three years ago in search of an environment free from creative constraint – a place to design, to explore, to grow into his diverse artistry. Now, having recently graduated from fashion school, he is getting to the root of the music he wants to make, finding an ever-evolving musical home within himself and the late-night bustle of the NYC DIY alt scene.
industry standard Tracklist
1. GO
2. TM2TB (w/ Madelline)
3. tongues (w/ Curtis Waters)
4. COMEDOWN (w/ Steve Bill)
5. i want to be alone with you (w/ Jacob Geoffrey)
6. kids – aldrch redux
7. drive! (w/ poptropicaslutz!)
8. is this what it feels like
For more information on aldrch, visit:
Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok
